LAPD detective recalls case against Encino cosmetic surgeon

Detective Joel Price investigated the case against a former Encino plastic surgeon charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 61-year-old woman.

Detective Joel Price investigated the case against a former Encino plastic surgeon charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 61-year-old woman. (City of Thousand Oaks)

Robert J. Lopez

This blog post has been corrected. See the note below for details.

The death of a patient is not something that homicide detectives typically investigate. But after Sharon Carpenter died following a 10-hour liposuction surgery, veteran Det. Joel Price became involved in the case.

The cosmetic surgeon allegedly acted "so recklessly that he endangered the life of his patient and ultimately contributed to the killing," said Price, who commands the West Valley homicide unit for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The 46-year-old Mohamed is charged with giving Carpenter a lethal cocktail of lidocane, fentanyl and oxycodone during the procedure at his Encino office, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Mohamed is expected to be arraigned Wednesday at the courthouse in Van Nuys.

Price said he became involved in the case about two weeks after Carpenter's death after paramedics responded to Mohamed's office because he was allegedly performing medical procedures on himself.

"That's what really prompted me to take a hard look," Price told The Times.

Prosecutors allege that Mohamed performed another lengthy liposuction operation on a 77-year-old woman who lost consciousness May 21, 2010. The woman survived but allegedly has suffered ongoing health issues as a result of the operation.

The former surgeon is charged with failing to meet required safety standards for equipment, staffing and emergency resources when he performed the two 2010 surgeries.

Mohamed has been in county jail since July after he was convicted of forgery and burglary in another criminal case that stemmed from an incident in Santa Monica, police said.

In one instance, Mohamed allegedly gave a patient a handwritten note with the promise of a $40,000 discount in exchange for the patient’s participation in a “study with Harvard,” according to the petition.

Price said he also informed the medical board as his investigation into Carpenter's death progressed. The statute of limitations against Mohamed would have expired at midnight Tuesday.

"The timing of this filing was critical," said Price, a 33-year LAPD veteran who also serves on the Thousand Oaks City Council. "It had to happen today."

[For the record Aug. 26, 2013, 9:06 p.m.: A previous version of this post and headline incorrectly referred to Mohamed as a plastic surgeon, which requires extensive training and certification.]